


The Means To Be Champion

by vaporeonxglaceon



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Amputation, Memories, Pain, because I'm a jerk
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-20
Updated: 2018-12-20
Packaged: 2019-09-23 16:07:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17083463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vaporeonxglaceon/pseuds/vaporeonxglaceon
Summary: What if Link did have some blink of memories when he wake from the resurrection pool, faces he find familiar, Pain he for a fact knows he have had. Waking half naked in a stone like pool, his arm heavy, legs cold. Apparently amputated, why? He wasn’t sure of that yet himself either.





	The Means To Be Champion

**.:TMTBC:.**

 

**The Means To Be Champion**

**Chapter 0: The Light At The End Of The Tunnel.**

 

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything within the story other than the plot. All else goes to its original creator at Nintendo.**

 

**Summary: What if Link did have some blink of memories when he wake from the resurrection pool, faces he find familiar, Pain he for a fact knows he have had. Waking half naked in a stone like pool, his arm heavy, legs cold. Apparently amputated, why? He wasn’t sure of that yet himself either.**

 

**VxG: Something to keep in mind when reading this, Link will be ambidextrous with a preference of his left. Link has vague memories, not full ones that he will later acquire. Other than that, there really isn’t much else to mention, for all will be explained as the story goes on. Hope you enjoy.**

 

**.:VxG:.**

 

“ _Wa—ink.”_

 

There was darkness, a faint blip of light. What had he been doing?

 

“ _Link, wa—p”_

 

_Link? Was that him? All he really could remember was… rain, it had been raining. A searing pain in his arms and legs. What happened?_

 

“ _You need to wake up.”_

 

Mud, mud had caked its way into his clothes and hair. Wet, cold, out of breath, a burn like sensation in his arms and legs….. why can’t he remember…. There had…. There had been someone with him…. hadn’t there?

 

“ _Open your eyes, Link.”_

 

It was now he felt it, his body was heavy, heavy and tired, tired like that of having slept too much. A squint of an eye, the imagery is fuzzy at first, soft, but dark blues, a faint soft light. A hoarse groan, his body heavy with sleep. He lifted an arm, bending it over his face, but it was not skin that met him. It was cold, biting metal. His eyes shot open, staring at his arm now.

 

His entire left arm up to a bit above his elbow, was entirely encased in metal, steel gray with hints of soft blue….. not really steel, but there was a hard shine to it, it allowed for movement, and bending of his elbow, and bending of his fingers, its almost like a cloth, but sturdy, hard like stone in a way, but flexible at the same time.

 

He could not help but feel his breath catch his throat. He opened and closed his hand a few times, trying to have it sink in. His arm had been amputated, why, what had happened to him that require such…. He was seated now, bolting upright as his thoughts paused as he looks to his legs, and again, the breath catches, his legs where in a similar state as his arm, his left leg was cut at above the knee, while the right was around the calf. He turned to look at his right arm. It had not been amputated and replaced with metal at the very least, but still, a cold sweat dripped down his neck, there where odd faded burns – purple? – covering his hand and around the wrist and up the arm towards his shoulder.

 

He could not help but squeeze and turn his non bionic arm around, letting the bionic one fall heavy to his side as he began to stare into the weaves of burns and scars that paint across his skin. A pretty harsh gash was cut into his side, right around the bottom of his ribs on his left side.

 

He remember a pain. – He held a clammy hand to his side, shaking. – Cold and uneven ground, wet, muddy. – The mechanical hand goes up to his unkempt shoulder length hair, its damp against his skin, cluttered with knots. – He clenched his right hand again, holding it up to his face. He had been—holding something. It had slid from his grasp, like butter and stone… but what was it? What had that something been?

 

A soft rumble, almost like that of turning stone, caught Link’s attention. There in the corner, a round alter of some kind, something rectangular stood in the middle of it.

 

Tilting his head slightly, a faint frown on his face. ‘How curious.’

 

It was then that he took in the surrounding room, large, circular, the damp stone bed he lied upon took up the most room. Shaking his head he hefted his legs across the stone edge of the bed, body complaining slightly as he did so, putting his metal feet to the ground…. Nothing, he could not feel the texture of the ground, he knew his feet where planted, knew that if he where to stand upright, he would be able to do so, but a part of him almost didn’t want to, he scraped a metal toe. (Much like his fingers, he had full control of them it appeared, something to keep in mind for later.) onto the stone floor, nothing. No sensation other that the physical feel of something sturdy scraping against sturdy… some part of him felt sad at that…. He stood. Bones in his spine creaking and popping into place as he did.

 

The weight on his artificial legs felt… natural, it didn’t hurt, didn’t feel uncomfortable. It just was. With a sigh, he walked, first a bit unsteady, catching himself onto the bed a bit when he almost fell on his ass. But soon found the balance to keep moving. Once he reached the rectangular something that had caught his eye, the voice he had halfway ignored and halfway listened to started to talk to him again.

 

“ _This is the Sheika Slate, take it, for it will be a valuable asset, and guide after your long slumber.”_

 

‘Sheika Slate? That's what this is?’

 

Link grasped the object with his mechanical arm, once he held it closer to his face to get a closer look, did it light up.

 

“Error, runes none functional, needs update.”

 

‘Runes?’ Link twisted and turned the Slate in his hands a bit more, poking at the black smooth stone like surface with a finger. Only for the error thing to pop up again.

 

‘What a strange contraption… it does feel familiar though, and the word Sheika…. It feels as if I should know it.’

 

A shiver ran through his body. “HACTHOO!” A loud sneeze echoed in the room, Link held himself, ignoring the cold metal of his arm. Feeling every strand of hair stand on his body, shivering and snot dripping from his nose. Now also more aware of the dampness and water that dripped from his hair.

 

‘Gee, it best I get some clothes for myself, this can’t be healthy being in my briefs like this. But where?’ he turned to look around the room, it was bare, the stone bed in the middle of it, nothing in that direction no door or – hey, a door. Walking towards it, his steps clinking on the stone floor, as he crossed the threshold. It look to be some form of storage area. Small, not much volume, a raised platform with stairs leading down to a door, ceiling high with that eye symbol again, it being on the slate and all. It feel so familiar though.… Looking around some more, there where crates, barrels and a few chests littered the ground, dust, some moss it appeared more towards the end of the hall towards that big door.

 

Ignoring it for now, he went towards the chest in the room, as he opened it, he found a worn shirt, tan in color, worn brown calf length pants and some hide boots. The soles had some wear to them, probably not going to hold up for long, but feet comfort was not really a problem right now, his legs being metal and all that, but still, it would be nice to have something to cover them, it would make his steps more silent at the very least. If the soles tear out, perhaps tying some cloth over the metal would help dampen them afterwards, but that’s still a bit off. The hide shoes work for now.

 

In the other chest there where a whole lot of straps. A belt, and an empty quiver? Link looked around for whatever bow would come with this. He found a few, but they where not at all functional, some might be able to be repaired, but a lot of the wood was worn, damaged or rotted away. Leaving the sad destroyed bows to their fate, he strapped the quiver to his back anyway. It might come in handy, it was sturdy, made of a tough leather and it just… felt right, the way it just rested at his back, the weight where it hung from his belt was comforting. Even handling the bows earlier he found scattered around had felt familiar, so he knew his way around a bow apparently. Good to know.

 

Blowing some hair out of his face, okay, this is getting ridiculous, is there anything he can use to get this out of the way…. Turning to some of the twine for some of the damaged bows. Unhooking the strings he pulled his knotted hair back, brushing some fingers through it to loosen it up, pulling the twine from his mouth and starts to twist it around the loose bun he had gathered at the back of his neck. Hair out of his face. He turned around to the rest of the room.

 

Looking around the room, finding nothing more than more dust, empty barrels and yet more dust, he walked over to the door. It was big, up to the ceiling large, looking around, the voice spoke up again. _“Put the Slate to the pedestal it will open your way forward.”_

 

Link looked to the slate he still held in his hand, then to the pedestal in front of him… might as well, don’t really got much else going on. Taking the Slate, and pressing it to the pedestal, watching as it lights up, a few moments pass, with nothing happening, and then, a rumble. The giant door lights up and lifts to the ceiling. Light starts beaming in to the dark cave he find himself in, taking hold of the Slate again, not really knowing where to put it, there was a hook thing on his belt though… looking to the slate again…. He tries fastening it to his side, it fits the hooks like a glove, would you look at that.

 

“ _Link, you are the light Hyrule needs, the light at the end of a hundred year old darkness. And I hope, that you can ever forgive me. I understand if you can’t. But know, that I did it to save your life.”_

 

The voice grew silent, the female sounds familiar, the genuine anguish in it makes him feel sad. “I do not know what it is you are sorry for.” Links voice was rasp, hoarse with years of misuse. How long has it been since he last spoke, he feels it has been longer that his apparent slumber, what had she said… a hundred year darkness? Had he been asleep for that long? “But, whatever it is you are sorry for, I’m sure you had your reasons.” there was no reply. She didn’t speak to him anymore. Link felt his face soften. ‘wherever you are.’ he began. ‘I hope you stay safe.’

 

Turning his head towards the open gate way, sunlight beaming in, he could not help the smile that formed on his face, soft and warm, a welcome change to the stuffy dark room he had found himself in. Walking past the water towards a ledge, climbing said ledge was easy, effortless even. The feel of rock under his…. Well, remaining five fingers really. Felt nice and comforting, familiar in a way. Even with the metal, it felt right, his feet knew where to plant themselves, his fingers grasped just at the right crevice. His muscles pulling him up the ledge was second nature. ‘Must have done a whole lot of climbing, another note to add to the things I supposedly did before all this.’

 

Stepping out of the cave, the meadow ahead of him caught his breath, fresh air, bird song, a vast land. He let his legs fall under him, so he could feel the grass, warm sun kissed dirt, a squirrel hurried away with an acorn in its mouth a bit further off, crickets flying off by the four winds….

 

“ _C’mon you slow poke, you won’t catch me like that.”_

 

Link stood up abruptly, almost falling over himself in his haste. Looking around frantically… what…. What was that? Had he imagined it? A deep part of him knew, he hadn’t. It had been a little girls voice, not the one who had woken him…. What…

 

“Why hello there.”

 

Link pivoted on his heel, hands held up in fists in front of him close to his body. His body wound tight like a spring, ready to throw a punch, only to come face to face with an old man with a cane and rags.

 

“Easy there young man, I mean no harm. I was just curious is all.”

 

Link felt his body slack briefly, but a voice at the back of his head told him not to get too comfortable. He released his stance, but crossed his arms, and got into a loose stance, feet planted more or less into the soft earth, ready to bolt or kick at a moments notice.

 

“Weary of a stranger I see, a smart move, smart move indeed. I just wanted to invite you to some baked apples near my fire under the overhang down the road over there, it is not everyday you get to see a new face around these parts, its pretty solitary up on this plateau. Not counting the numerous monsters that are around, but still. Not much of a conversation those beasts.”

 

Link could not help but squint at the man, something about his voice just feel a bit off. Not the words themselves per say, but, the voice itself.

 

Link cleared his throat slightly. “Do I know you?” His hands clenching a bit tighter around himself from where they are crossed.

 

The man simply smiled, a twinkle of…. something… in his eye, Link isn’t quite sure. “You tell me. I know I’m getting a bit hungry myself, will you join me, the offer still stand.” The man walked off, a low tune in his throat as he waddles away.

 

Link watch the man walk away, uncertain what to feel of his presence. He could walk away, climb down the ledge in the opposite direction….. but he was feeling a bit hungry. And he did offer… another clench of his non bionic hand, he started to jog over towards where the man had disappeared off to.

 

**.:VxG:.**

 

A fire had been started, burning hot even the ways off he was standing from the place the elderly man had seated himself at. Link felt the heat a drift towards him, feeling the warmth engulf him as he watched the elderly man place apples around the fire, letting the heat bake them, Link had to admit, it looked real tasty. It smells tasty… feeling his mouth water, he walks forward again, hunching down in front of the fire, balancing perfectly on his mechanical toes, folding his arms between his legs and stomach, watching the flames dance and flicker in the timid breeze.

 

“If I may be so bold.”

 

Link looked up at the man, seated against the rock. The man had a look of… not pity, but there was a look of some form of… sadness one could call it, but it wasn’t quite that either. Regret?

 

“Your arm, and, well your legs too for that matter, I hope this isn’t too forward, but, what ever happened to you?”

 

Link didn’t answer, just clenching said robotic arm hard into his scarred flesh. Turning his head down away from the man, letting his bangs hide his face. He didn’t know, and part of him was scared, real scared to know the kind of damage that had been dealt to him that require such procedure, he could not quite suppress the shiver that flew through his body. To amputate and replace his limbs with metal. What happened to him, he didn’t know, and a part of him feel he hope he never does.

 

The man sighed, a deep heavy one. Link didn’t look up. “I’m sorry, that was a bit too forward of me. I was merely curious.”

 

They where silent for a while, only the sound of nature and the sparks of flame, disrupted their quiet.

 

“I don’t know.” Link said in but a whisper. Not quite sure why he decided to speak up to this stranger, who he moments ago was ready to punch the living light out off. “I don’t remember anything. Other than that I had been running in the rain and a pain.” Link looked up towards the man, arms still in a vice grip around himself. The mans features soften slightly, bent down, grasped one of the baked apples he had placed around the fire. Handing it to Link.

 

“I’m sorry I asked.” And Link believed him, he truly believed the man was sorry, Link gave a hollow smile, and accepted the apple offered to him.

 

Nothing else was said between them, Link munched on the soft flesh of the apples, if only he had some cinnamon to add to this, it would be heavenly, but such powder would be hard to come by out here in the wilds.

 

After sitting for a good while, enjoying their warm snack, Link felt the Slate vibrate slightly. Pulling it up, he now noticed a yellow blip on it. Odd.

 

“ _The slate will be your guide, follow it.”_

 

And the lady was speaking to him again, but it sound distant. Standing from his crouched position, grabbing another apple from the fire pit.

 

Just as he walks past the elderly man, said man speaks up. “And you’re off to where now?”

 

Link shrugs his shoulders. “Not sure, but I’m sure its important.” He held up the Slate for the man to see, and for a brief moment, Link saw the man’s eyes widen, just a fraction. “Well, I guess we can talk later then, enjoy your walk, oh, and take that ax with you, it is better protection than nothing up here. And I do believe I saw something by the lake down there, not sure, you can check it out for yourself if your curious.”

 

Link nodded, a faint smile on his face, turned away from the small camp, and headed towards the unknown.

 

**.:VxG:.**

 

**VxG: And here we go, 3.163 something words for a supposedly prologue chapter….. oh well, hope you all enjoyed it, next time we get to explore more of the Plateau, some shrines, and even some more vague memories. See you all then.**

**Author's Note:**

> yes, I am a horrible human being, chopping limbs off is not the right thing to do, but I want to take a turn with this series that I feel is missing in most long running BOTW fics I have read, one does come close, and I love the story for what it does, but, I still feel there is something missin, its missing from a whole lot of BOTW fics, and I want to take a hand in it and try something I have yet to see.
> 
> Link being hurt to the point of affecting his overall body and mentality. We see it clear as day in the memories within the game, Link fainting after Zelda stopping the beam of a Guardian. But before all that, we see the guardians littered around where they stopped. Link had fought those demon machines to the point of fainting, and the near destruction of the MASTER FRIGGIN SWORD!! yet, all he got from it are some apparent scratches that don't even show up on his body in game? and only mentioned ONCE by Robbie.
> 
> We are told he was wounded to the point of close death, but all we get is muddy clothes and fainting within Zelda's grasp, there is no ripped clothing, there is no scars that marrs his skin, there is no blood or apparent injuries, no limp, no holding of his side in pain, no nothing. And I want to get in there, as extreme as I can. and tell a story of an injured Link to the point of amputation, I won't go into details here of what happened to him just yet, just know, I got some stuff brewing for down the lane.


End file.
